Southeast Wisconsin Food Projects Win Seed Grants
Community groups in southeast Wisconsin can apply for up to $1,500 in seed money by Jan. 30 for local food and farming projects.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Organic Food
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The Food, Faith and Farming Network opened applications for seed money grants supporting community food and farming projects in southeast Wisconsin. Ten grants of up to $1,500 each will be awarded in 2023, with applications due Jan. 30.
Why it matters
The program aims to strengthen relationships between rural and urban communities through local food and farming projects. It follows a four-year seed money grant program in southwest Wisconsin that funded 32 projects.
The figures come from the organization's own program records: five listening and networking sessions held in fall 2022 in Racine, Neosho, East Troy, Saukville and Milwaukee, and a prior four-year southwest Wisconsin grant program that funded 32 projects. The outcomes of the new southeast Wisconsin projects have not yet been measured.
The players
Food, Faith and Farming Network
A Wisconsin organization that promotes food and farming projects linking rural and urban communities, originally formed in 1989 as the Churches' Center for Land and People.
Bader Philanthropies
A philanthropic foundation that contributed $25,000 to fund the listening sessions and seed money grants.
The details
Applicants must identify a community issue, propose an innovative solution, and build a network of individuals or groups to carry it out. Grants are capped at $1,500 each, and awardees will be notified in late February. The organization was founded in 1989 as the Churches' Center for Land and People and changed its name to the Food, Faith and Farming Network in 2016.
Timeline
Fall 2022: Five listening and networking sessions held across southeast Wisconsin.
Jan. 30, 2023: Application deadline for southeast Wisconsin seed money grants.
Late February 2023: Grant awardees to be notified.
2023: Funded projects expected to get underway.
Health Landscape
The southwest Wisconsin seed money program ran for four years and supported 32 local food and farming projects. The southeast expansion extends that model to a new part of the state, with its success still to be determined.
If you live in southeast Wisconsin, local groups receiving these grants may offer new community food and farming projects to get involved with. Anyone interested in applying should review the requirements and submit by the Jan. 30 deadline.
The takeaway
Community food and farming projects that bring together rural and urban residents are the focus of this grant program. Readers interested in local food initiatives can watch for awardee announcements in late February.
What happens next
Grant awardees are expected to be notified in late February 2023, and funded projects are expected to begin in 2023.
Further reading
Explore more organic food coverage to see how local growing projects are developing across the state.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Farm Progress.
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